Popular Sex Columnist Dan Savage Headlines Sexuality Week

Popular columnist Dan Savage will speak in the Campus Center Ballroom on Feb. 10 at 8 p.m.

A talk by nationally acclaimed author and columnist Dan Savage tops the list of educational lectures during Sexuality Week at UAlbany, which runs through Feb. 14. Savage will speak at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10, in the Campus Center Ballroom.

Savage writes an advice column called Savage Love, which is syndicated to alternative weeklies across the nation. He grew up in a "loud, argumentative, and very Catholic" family, and came out as gay in that context.

Other educational topics will be addressed during Sexuality Week, and throughout the month of February, ending with the traditionally sold-out Vagina Monologues performed by University at Albany students. Proceeds from the highly acclaimed play, held Feb. 26-28, go to domestic violence shelters.

"During the 26 years that Sexuality Week has been in existence at UAlbany, college students across the nation have been faced with critical issues and choices. Concerns related to gender issues, HIV/AIDS, relationships, identity, and reproductive health have remained at the forefront across time," said M. Dolores Cimini, director, Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program, University Counseling Center. "We hope the information that will be presented will encourage learning, dialogue, and critical thinking, and will continue to move Middle Earth forward in its mission of prevention education."

Included among the events below to be held in Campus Center 375 are:

• Feb. 10, 1 p.m.: European Approaches to Sex Education, presented by Carol Stenger. The U.S. continues to have the highest teen pregnancy rate of all industrialized nations. The presenter traveled to the Netherlands, Germany, and France with colleagues to research sex education practices that may account for the differences.

Sexuality Week is coordinated by the Middle Earth Peer Assistance Program of the University Counseling Center and funded by the Student Association. The full Sexuality Week program can be downloaded from the University at Albany Counseling Center Web site at: www.albany.edu./counseling_center/